“Who is it?”

The woman who opened the door squinted her eyes and said.

“It’s really Larisa.”

“Yes, I… I came to ask something.”

Linda, casting wary glances at William and Hadel one by one, asked.

“If it’s about your mom, I really don’t know much.”

“What?”

“I didn’t ask anything. All I know is that one day, your mom ran away as if being chased by someone and ended up here. She gave birth to you less than a few months later.”

Larisa was surprised by the unexpected story. Today might be the day she could hear about her father, a topic her mom never talked about…

Linda, who looked at her with pitiful eyes, added in a calm voice.

“This place is where women who were charmed by superficial nobles, ruined their lives, and were pushed here gather. Ah, why am I talking like this while holding a child…”

Then, she waved her hand as if chasing away a fly.

“Stop bothering. If your mom didn’t tell you the story, it’s better not to know, right? Now that you’ve become a nobleman’s daughter, don’t act like you’re anything special here.”

After that, she began to push William and Hadel with her hands.

“Go on. Go inside before the sun sets. After sunset, the drunkards start wandering around.”

As reluctant Larisa was being pushed, she said.

“Wait, just a moment. Really, you don’t know anything? About my dad?”
“I really don’t know. Probably a noble. If someone spread rumors about them, would the homeowner stay quiet? Here, it’s an unwritten rule not to say or ask anything.”

“What about your mom’s family? Hometown?”

“If she had family, she wouldn’t have ended up in a place like this. Hometown… Your mom spoke such perfect courtly language that I can’t even guess.”

In the end, Larisa had no choice but to return with no information. Arriving at the portal of the mansion through Hadel’s teleportation magic, Larisa lowered her head with a weary sigh.

Hadel, rather unhelpfully, offered consolation that wasn’t comforting.

“Lara, perhaps what that lady said could be true. There’s nothing good to find out. And now that Larisa is a member of Rodante, what’s the point of knowing her origin?”

“Yeah…”

What Larisa wanted to know was not her bloodline or origin, but her mom’s story. However, Larisa simply nodded.

William, pondering what to say, gave up.

“Let’s go. To have something sweet.”

“Yeah.”

Larisa took William’s outstretched hand.

William, for a change of mood, asked a passing maid to prepare tea and dessert at the garden table and seated Larisa. He didn’t like the sight of her looking dejected.

But from William, who had never tried comforting someone, a somewhat blunt remark slipped out.

“Do whatever you want. What are you going to do if you hear a bad story?”
William immediately covered Larisa’s mouth as soon as she spoke.

‘Ah, this crazy guy. Why does he always…’

However, Larisa, undeterred, spoke bravely.

“I will revenge.”

“What?”

“If something bad happened to my mom, I will seek revenge.”

William was surprised by this unexpected revelation.

“Why are you surprised? I always thought there was some story about my mom. When my mom came to take me, I thought I could know the story. But Mom just kept saying that I am William’s destiny, without knowing anything.”

William, who was only seven, stared foolishly at Larisa’s mature tone.

“When I grow up, attend the academy, become a knight like William, I can punish bad people, right?”

Tears began to fill Larisa’s eyes. Soon, like droppings from a chicken, tears began to fall. Larisa just let the tears flow without sobbing or making any fuss.

“Alright.”

“…”

“Let’s get revenge. I’ll help you.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Okay, you do it. Do everything you want.”

William didn’t know how to comfort Larisa, who was crying. He thought it would be better to lift her up and comfort her if she were crying loudly. He didn’t know how to deal with her crying so maturely.

‘Is she really seven?’

Perhaps it’s because she hasn’t grown much due to malnutrition, but she claims to be seven. No, even if she were ten, it would be the same. How did she even know the word “revenge”?

“But did you learn the word ‘revenge’ at school these days?”
“No? You learned it from the boss, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“I’m going to get revenge on you, you jerk. You use this word a lot.”

For William, who was born and raised as a noble young master, it was a highly provocative way of speaking. William wiped off cold sweat. It felt awkward because it didn’t suit Larisa’s mouth to say such things.

“Well, anyway, don’t cry now, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried. If I want to cry, I cry…”

“You’re not crying?”

“Yeah…”

“I won’t give up. I don’t know what to do now, but when I find a way later, I’ll definitely find out my mom’s story. So if there are bad guys, I’ll revenge.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll beat them up real good.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Larisa quickly regained her energy after eating dessert. William secretly sighed in relief.

He thought that finding and beating up the bad guys would be better than letting Larisa cry alone.

“Eat well and get stronger!”

“Sure, eat this too.”